I was at a recent gathering to promote awareness of the peril we subject our college students, faculty and staff to when we forbid them the God-given right to self defense. This event was at Virginia Tech, a school which has experienced firsthand the tragedy that is wrought when a deranged killer targets unprotected victims like fish in a barrel. The VT Libertarians in concert with the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) coordinated the event and shared their belief that had concealed handgun permit holders been allowed the same rights inside campus buildings as they are allowed outside, the massacre may not have happened or the outcome might have been much less tragic.

While we were educating the public about this issue, a small group of people wanting to severely restrict access to guns by law abiding citizens staged a protest next to our lawful assembly. They were handing out papers with their reasons for not allowing permit holders to exercise their right to self defense while on campus. I would like to take a moment to examine their reasoning.

They state the following (quoted from a handout from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and handed out at Virginia Tech):

Reason #1. Academic debate cannot flourish in a room full of guns.

Freedom of expression. Protecting free expression of teachers and students is the most obvious way in which academic freedom must be secured. Teachers must be able to address even the most controversial subjects, in their research and writing endeavors as well as in the classroom, without fear that they will be punished for challenging conventional thought or espousing provocative ideas. Students must have the same ability to pursue knowledge without risk of being penalized or restrained by those who might disagree with the students’ views. All of these cherished values of our educational process would be greatly diminished if college classrooms were filled with armed students and teachers.

With all due respect, your desire to remove the Second Amendment from the United States Constitution is misguided by common misinterpretation of this very important amendment. The right to self-defense is a basic human right.

The second amendment is not about hunting; it is not about shooting sports; it is about our right to self-defense and our right to protect ourselves from a tyrannical government.

As a reporter with your experience, it is safe for one to assume you have studied history. There are many times in human existence that one can point to and see the effects of a disarmed population being not only controlled but often annihilated by a tyrannical government. You may not see this as a concern in America but it is, and will always be, a concern all people should have. It is often said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Over many generations we have seen various attacks on our constitution rights. People can no longer freely assemble without permission from the government and payment to them to gain a permit to do so; without it we face arrest. People can no longer trust that their privacy is respected or that they will be afforded an attorney should they face a criminal charge. Just read the patriot act, don’t take our word for it.

As women we value our right to not be robbed, to not be raped and to have the right to defend ourselves against such criminal acts should we be faced with them. Our right to life is a basic human right that no other has the right to take from us. Yet in some places in America we are not allowed to defend ourselves or even carry mace. We are only allowed to try to call 911 and hope to live to tell the police who changed our lives forever. For some, they will not even be able to do that at all. They will simply be the news story of the evening, found dead and taken away from their loved ones forever, who, will be left to see if the investigation will ever bring the guilty to justice. How is it that you can find comfort in saying to the world we do not have the right to defend ourselves, giving all the rights to the criminal instead? Perhaps you have not considered this side of the issue; we hope if that is the case, you will now consider this side.

We hope that as you start your new position you will give serious thoughts to the effects your words can have on the lives of those around you.

We would ask that you review history and understand that many have fought and died in defense of our Constitutional rights and they do not take lightly the idea of diminishing their sacrifices.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Second Amendment Sisters and its membership we look forward to your response.